Liquid heater



Nov. 2, 1954A L. n H. PETERsEN LIQUID HEATER Filed June 22, 1951 ffy n Xp

United States Patent() LIQUID HEATER Lars Kristian Holger Petersen, Copenhagen, Denmark Application June 22, 1951, Serial No. 232,928

4 Claims. (Cl. 257-227) The present invention relates to a liquid heater, prefer ably for heating water for use in houser heating.

It has already been proposed to provide such heaters with a number of interior tube coils through which highpressure steam flows, and around which coils the liquidi to be heated ows. In hitherto known heaters of this; type all the tube coils are twisted in the same direction; thus rendering impossible the intermeshing of the coils. Consequently the spacing between the coils is relatively large so that the area of flow for the liquid to be heatedl becomes large, resulting in a relatively slow liquid flow' and a resulting poor heat exchange.

The main object of the present invention is to provide` means for increasing the speed of flow of the liquid to be heated along the tube coils in the heater.

Another object of the invention is to provide meansI for arranging the tube coils closely together in order todiminish the interspacing therebetween and thus increase the liquid flow.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for distributing the liow of liquid through the heater in a manner to obtain the highest possible degree of heat exchange.

A still further object of the invention is to render possible a variable adjustment of the interrelation of the supply and outlet connections for the liquid which is heated in the heater.

These and further objects of the invention Will be apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, which shows one manner of constructing the heater, and in which Fig. l is a vertical section through the heater arranged for operation by means of high-pressure steam from a remote heat-producing plant,

Fig. 2 is a transverse section on an increased scale on line II--II in Fig. l, and

Fig. 3 is a vertical section on line III-III in Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawing, 1 indicates a vertical tubular container, having at its lower end a base 2, and at its upper end an outwardly extending flange 3. At its lower end the container has a pipe connection 4 to which may be connected a supply pipe for the liquid to be heated, e. g. water for house heating. Upon the flange 3 is disposed a primary distribution plate 5, and on this rests a flange 6 forming the lower end of a container top provided with a vertical wall 7 in extension of the wall of the container 1. The wall 7 is provided with a top 8 and a laterally disposed pipe connection 9 to which a discharge pipe for the heated water to be used for house heating is connected. The two flanges 3 and 6 on either side of the distribution plate are clamped together by means of clamping bolts, not included in the drawing, suitable packing being interposed between the flanges and the distribution plate.

At one side of the distribution plate 5 is attached e. g. welded, an inlet connection 10 which at its inner end is somewhat flattened in order to iit the distribution plate 5. This connection 10 is intended to be connected to a supply pipe for high pressure steam taken e. g. from a remote heat-producing plant. The inlet connection 10 communicates with borings 11 and 12, Fig. 2, in the distribution plate 5 and extending in the plane of the plate, and these borings are traversed by other borings 13 and 14 in the same plane, and each closed by means of a stopper 15 and 16 respectively. The lower side of the distribution plate 5 is provided with a number of vertical holes 17 which communicate with the borings 2,693,346 Patented Nov. 2, 1954 11, 12, 13 and 14, and each of which is provided with a recess 18. Furthermore, the distribution plate 5 is provided with a number of apertures 19 carried throughout the entire thickness of the plate, but not communicating with the borings 11, 12, 13 and 14. These apertures 19 are venturishaped with smoothly formed transitions from the one cone to the other.

In the lower end of the container 1 is disposed a secondary distribution plate 20 which has a diameter somewhat smaller than the diameter of the primary distribution plate 5. This secondary distribution plate 20 is provided with borings corresponding to the borings 11, 12, 13 and 14 in the primary distribution plate 5, and these borings communicate with the upper side of the plate 20 through holes corresponding to holes 17, 18 in plate 5. The lower side of the secondary distribution plate 20 is provided with an outlet pipe connection 21 for condensation. This outlet pipe connection is carried tightly through the base 2 of container 1. The secondary distribution plate 20 is not provided with apertures cornlesponsding to apertures 19 in the primary distribution p ate The holes 17, 18 of each distribution plate 5 and 20 are interconnected by means of helical tube coils, of which some tubes 22 are right-hand twisted, while the other tubes 23 are left-hand twisted. Each helical tube 22 or 23 is wound around a tube 24 which is closed at each end.

The tube coils 22 and 23 are wound and arranged in so close relative proximity that the windings of the righthand twisted coils 22 intermesh the windings of the lefthand twisted coils 23.

Between the wall of the tubular container 1 and the coils 22 and 23 there is thus produced chambers having substantially triangular cross section. Each of these chambers may be provided with an insert 25 having a corresponding cross section, thus lling up the chamber.

The container 1 has legs 26 and 27, and it is provided with a surrounding jacket 28. The space between the container wall and the jacket is lilled with a suitable heat insulating material 29.

The liquid heater described operates in the following manner. High-pressure steam is supplied through the inlet connection 10 from e. g. a remote heat-producing plant. The steam supplied Hows through the borings 11-14 in the primary distribution plate 5 and is distributed through holes 17, 18 to the tube coils 22 and 23. This steam yields heat and is condensed in these tube coils, and the condensate flows through the holes in the secondary distribution plate 20 and is discharged through the outlet 21. Thus, the water supplied through the pipe connection 4 and owing upwardly through the container 1 where it is forced to meander between the coils 22 and 23, is heated and continues its flow through the apertures 19 in the primary distribution plate 5 to the discharge pipe connection 9.

When the clamping bolts connecting the top part 7, 8 to the container 1 are loosened, the top part may be rotated to any desired position for adjusting the relative positions of the pipe connections 4 and 9, and thereupon clamped again in this position. When loosening the above mentioned clamping bolts and the outlet pipe connection 21, the two distribution plates 5 and 20 with the interposed tube coils 22 and 23 may be rotated as a unit within the container 1 in order thus to adjust the posi tion of the steam supply pipe connection 10, in relation to the water supply pipe connection 4. The two distribution plates 5 and 20 thus constitute a pressure-tight unit, and are not affected by the said rotation. The top part 7, 8 has only o be clamped so as to meet a pressure corresponding to the relatively low pressure of the water.

It will be understood that the device described above, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, shall only serve as an example of how the invention may be carried into effect, and variations in constructional details are possible Within the scope of the invention. Thus e. g. the distribution plates 5 and 20 may constitute the ends of the container, in which instance none of them is provideded with through-apertures, and both pipe connections 4 and 9 are then arranged in the wall of the container.

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However, the arrangement illustrated of at 2,6sanfte.`

least. the primary distribution plate 5 is fallu@ t@ be the most advantageous since it is cooled from both sides, which is not necessary in the case of secondary distribution plate 20, because only cooled condensate flows through the latter plate.

l declare that what I claim is:

l. A heat exchanger, comprising in combination with a container an inlet and an outlet for said container, a number of exchange tubes in the shape of rectilinear coils arranged alongside each otherwithin the con,- tainer and alternately right-hand twisted and left-hand twisted and intermeshing each other an amount approximately equal to the outer diameter of the tubes proper, within each coil a cylindrical ller member having an exterior diameter substantially equal to the interior diameter of the coil, and at each end of the coils a distributing member connected to said coil tubes and provided with passageways from said coil tubes to a connection portion of said distributing member.

2. A heat exchanger as claimed in claim l, in which filler members are provided between the coils and Vthe wall of the container;l

3. A heat exchanger as claimed in claim l, in which the distributing member comprises a plate member having dstriibufingbores parallel to the. faces, of the plate References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 324,120 Kirkaldy Aug. 1l, 1885 822,545 McLanghlin June 5, 1906 1,884,612 Dinvzl r Oct. 25, 1932 1,991,980 Hetzer Feb. 19, 1935 2,125,972 Wilson et al'. Aug. 9, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 12,180 Great Britain July 13, 1888 

